Our View: Memorial for Gold Star Boys to be dedicated at East

At 4:30 p.m. Thursday, The Gold Star Boys of East will have a memorial befitting their enormous sacrifice.

At 4:30 p.m. Thursday, The Gold Star Boys of East will have a memorial befitting their enormous sacrifice.

The monument, which will be dedicated Thursday, honors 34 young men who were students at or recent graduates from East when they signed up for combat in World War II. All of them lost their lives in the war — 16 in the first four months of 1945.

For Harry C. Muth, the principal of East at the time, the losses must have been staggering. When the fighting was over, East’s sacrifice amounted to 1 of 10 war deaths in Winnebago County.

For the past four years, a committee has planned, designed and raised funds for a permanent memorial to honor the 34 East students.

It started with a multipart series in 2007 in the Rockford Register Star, telling the fascinating story of how Muth typed a eulogy to each of the boys on a 4-by-6-inch index card.

An associate principal at East found the eulogy cards decades later, tucked in a file. Each card was a moving tribute to the boys’ character, love of country and ultimate sacrifice.

The memorial is designed to honor the men as well as educate young people.

Linda Hernandez wrote a guest column for the Register Star in 2008, when she was District 205 superintendent: “What a powerful teaching tool for students to be able to study the war from the perspective of the Gold Star Boys.” Hernandez wrote that she agreed with a member of the design team who said the memorial gives these 34 young men a voice again.

It was Emerson who connected with the Mike Harmon, the associate principal who found the Gold Star file, which led to the series.

At the time Emerson reflected on her interviews with family members, some of whom felt fresh grief about their losses: “It’s heartbreaking to think that these young men were drinking Cokes at the soda shop one day and just a few months later, they were fighting for their lives on bloody battlefields.

“They were so young and so brave. The world would be a far different place today without their sacrifice. We should never forget that.”

Thanks to the volunteer work of the memorial committee and the devotion of a community, we never will.